Slide fastener manufacture



2 Sheets-Sh eet l Filed Aug. 12. 1954 'INVENTOR. RUDOLF FEITL BY fi/ 12 ATTORNEY .July 9, 1957 R. FElTl SLIDE FASTENER MANUFACTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 12. 1954 I INVENTOR. QRUDOLF FEIT 'JATTORNEY United States Paten 2,798,549 sri nn FASTENER MANUFACTURE "l ludolfi I eitl, l lrpoklyn N, Y, assignor to Walden Koliinoqr, Ind, Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application august 12, 1954, Serial No. 449,2s '5 claims. Cl. "164-49 Thisinveiition relates to improvements in slide fastener niaanraeturegand more particularly to a control mechanism for a paratus employed 'in producing measured lengths of individual slide fastener chain having elementtree s p'acesat or adjacent the ends thereof from along length of continuous fastener chain supplied in roll form,

for eiiainple.

fine-such appaiatus as disclosed in my-prior application Serial No. 439,*112, filed June 24, 1954, ischaracterized by a punch assembly including closely spaced element- 'Terheving punch blades disposed lengthwise of or in the direction that the continuous chain is fed to the punch "assembly with a step-by-st'ep motion, said punch blades functioning on each working stroke simultaneously to femove' the groups of interengaged elements from two closely spaced length portions of the chain which are related to one another in lengthwise direction as are the i element-nee spaces or gaps at the adjacent ends of two measured lengths of fastenerchain being produced. As eiiplainedinsaid application, it is imperative not only that the element-removingpunch strike the required number of the fastener elements (more properly, the interengaged "or iiiteiriiesheli coupling hea'ds thereof) to be removed at each strokeofth'epun'ch, butalso that the groups of elements tobe removedare so positioned with respect to the punch "that the endrnostelernent or elements thereof are completely removed rather than only partially removed, as mayoccurif a'transverse end edge of the punch strikes fan endrnost elemento'f'a groupof elementsdisposed in thepath of its movement, and thereuponcutsthroughsaid "element inma'nner as to but partially rather than comple tely remove same.

It is a mainobject' of'the'present'invention to provide, in apparatus for-producing from continuous fastener chain =a"suc' :ess'io'n of "measured lengths of slide fastener chain characterized as aforesaid, an effective and practical means for "socontrolling the position ofthe chain with respect to'tlie path of travel of the element-removing 'p'unch as to insure that all elements of the group" or groups intended to be removed at each stroke of said. punch are completely removed from the chain.

More particularly, it is an object oftheinv'ention to provide a control means as aforesaid employing a locating pin disposed ashort fixed distance ahead of the punchand which is adapted to lower into thespace between two fastener elements 'of the chain andthe'reuponto'provide an abutment against which the second or following of said two elements is adapted to engage and thereby to be located upon the chainbeing stretched or drawn'taut toward'its free end, combined Witha stretching 'pin'disposed to the other or downstream sideof the p'un'ch a'nd which is adapted'tomove against the chain in manner as to tauten it and thereby locatethe groups of elements to be removed in invariably fixed positionwith respect to the punch,which po's'itionis such that saidelements"are completely remove'd upon the punch pa'rtikingbfits.

2,798,549 Patented July 9, 1957 ice element locatin am chain stretching pins combined with a punch mechanism 'for removing at least one group of fastener elements from a fastener chain, which pins are so interrelated wit'h respect to one another and to said 5 punch mechanism that immediately upon the locating pin engaging the chain the stretching pin will impart to the chain any additional movement required to bring said group of elements directly under the punch and in position such that all elements of the group, including the .endrnost elements, are completely removed by the punch.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of control mechanism asa'foresaid characterized by inexpensive 'yet practical construction and which is thoroughly dependable in its operation.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of the control means of the present invention will appear froin the following detailed description. thereof, taken with the accompanying drawings diagrammatically illustrat ing the same, and wherein Fig. 1 illustrates control mechanism according to the invention substantially at the instant that the locating pin has lowered on -to the chain, and just prior to the "stretchingpin lowering thereon; and

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view illustrating the action of 'the chain str'etching'pin -in causing the slight further inovenrentand/or ten'siohing of the chain as results in "all elements-of the group -'or groups to be removed being positioned "with respect to the punch as to be completely "rerndvedupon the latter partaking of its working stroke. In the drawings, reference numeral 10 designates a length of continuous-chain, i. o. two longitudinal tapes c'a'rryin'g uniformlyspaced interengaged fastener elements 11 along its adjacent edges, which has been drawn from -a-rollthereof (11ot'-shown) and isbeing-moved from left toriglit with a step-by-step motion by spaced sets 12, 12a and 13, 13a of*draw-off and feed rollers which'are intermittently driven. Said rollers draw off measured lengths of chain from the supply 'roll and feed same beneath a'punch assembly 14 whichis schematically illust'rated only but which may be of the type disclosed in my aforesaid application Serial No. 439,112, in that it comprises spaced-apart element-removing punch blades 1 511, 15bdisposed"longitudinallyorin the direction of feed niot ionof thechain 10, and a transverse severing *b la'de 16'dis'posed'in the space between said blades 15a, 1 51). 'As'describ'edin said application, the .blade 15a is "adaptedto remove a group of theelernents 11 frornthe chain at a location thereof which is spaceda distance "of-tw'oor threeelements froma transverse line corre- *spo'nding tothatofthe'cuttingedge of the chain severing blade 16, thereby toprovide'an element gap adjacent one (usually the upper) end of each measured length "of chainsevered from thecontinuous chain by the blade; "a'nd'tlw'blade 15b is adaptedtoremove a group of elein'ehtseit a'location beginning with said transverse line andextendinga slrort distancatowardthe free end of thechain,thereby toprovide an element-free extension att-he jbottorn'en'd of'each'length offastener chain severed from thecontinuousehain. It will 'be understood that *thelen'gth of chaindrawn from the roll thereof by each intermittent operation of'the draw-off and feed 'rollers determines the length of each single 'or individual fastener chainsevered from the continuous chain'by the action of The transverseblade 16.

5 fis explained in my prior application aforesaid, it is very necessary that the chain be positioned relatively of the punch assembly 1*4 as a whole, but moreparticularly or the element-removing blades 15a, 15b thereof so that, =when' the= pnnch' assembly partakes 0f its working stroke,

0f the two greups engaged thereby. 'Suchof course requires that each group of elements not only underlies the said blades sha'll "completely remove all of-the elements blade for effecting removal thereof, but also that the transverse end edges of each said blade extend beyond the transverse side faces of the endmost fastener elements of the group, so that the blade, in partaking of its working stroke, cannot strike an element in such manner as to only partially remove same. The present invention is concerned with control means for insuring the required positioning of the chain and fastener elements to be removed with respect to punch blade or blades as aforesaid, all as will appear from the following description thereof.

Such control means comprises two control pins acting in combination with one another and with the aforesaid punch assembly 14. Both of said pins are vertically disposed and are positioned above the chain for limited vertical movement toward and away from the latter. One of said pins designated 20, which is hereinafter termed the locating pin, is biased towards the chain by a spring 21 reactive between its upper end and a fixed part 22 of the machine, but its movement toward and away from the chain is positively controlled by an arm 23 pivoted at one end to a fixed fulcrum 24 and having a lost motion connection 25 to said pin at its other end. Limited angular motion is imparted to the arm 23 by means of a rod 26 connected at its lower end to said arm by means of a pivot 27 and whose other end is shown to be olfset as at 28 so as to engage on the edge surface of a peripheral cam 30. A spring 31 imparts a constant downward pull on the rod 26 whereby it acts as a cam follower in converting rotary motion of the cam 30 into angular motion of the arm 23 and hence vertical motion of the locating pin 20, i. e. downwardly under the action of spring 21 as the arm 23 moves in clockwise direction and upwardly with said arm as the latter moves in counter-clockwise direction.

The other control pin which is designated 33 and hereinafter referred to as a stretching pin is connected at its upper end to the outer end of a spring arm 34 pivoted at its inner end to a fixed fulcrum 35. Limited swinging or oscillatting motion is imparted to said arm 34 by means of a rod 36 whose upper end is oifset as at 37 as to engage on the edge of a peripheral cam 38, said rod being held in constant engagement with the cam edge by a pull-down spring 39 whereby it acts as a cam follower.

Preferably, the locating pin 20 and the stretching pin 33 are mounted to reciprocate in a fixed head (not shown) in which the punch mechanism also reciprocates and it will be understood that said pins, like the punch assembly, are energized only during the intervals between each two successive feed movements of the chain, i. e. during assembly through a suitable driving connection, or they may be mounted on the drive shaft so as to be driven directly thereby. By analysis of cam position as shown in the two views, it can be seen that the locating pin 25 is timed to lower on to and engage the fastener chain somewhat ahead of the stretching pin 33, and it is to be understood that both said pins will begin their lowering movement before corresponding movement of the punch assembly 14 is initiated and also that said pins will remain in their lowered position for the full interval that the punch blades a, 15b and 16 of said assembly are acting on the elements and chain tapes disposed in their respective paths.

According to a further feature of the invention, the locating pin is spaced a predetermined distance rearwardly (upstream) of the corresponding transverse end edge of the punch blade 15a, this distance, by reference particularly to Fig. 2, being slightly less than the distance between the most advanced (right-side) transverse edge of the following one of two fastener elements 11a, 11b beneath said locating pin 20 and between which the tip 1 moves well below the normal horizontal path of chain travel. Hence, in its lowered position, the stretching pin is adapted to bend a short length portion of the chain out of its plane and thereby to impart slight endwise movement to the chain, and also to stretch it or draw it taut, as will be explained. To render this action of the stretching pin more positive, a special tapesupporting roller 40 is disposed somewhat rearwardly of said pin, this roller being at the level of the lower roller 13a of the roller set 13, 13a. Thus, upon the stretching pin 33 striking the chain, the short length thereof which extends between rollers 40 and 13a is bent to extend as a V rather than straightway, which results in controlled pull being imparted on the length of the chain running to the punch assembly 14.

The action of the control means as aforesaid will now be briefly explained. First, it should be explained that Pig. 2 represents, in diagrammatic manner, the ideal alignment of the groups of fastener elements to be removed with the punch blades 15a, 15b for removing same, as ultimately brought about by the action of said control means. When so aligned, it will be seen that the transverse end edges of said punch blades in efiect appreciably overhang the endmost fastener elements of said groups to be removed so that all elements of the groups, including said endmost elements, will be completely removed upon said punch blades completing their work ing stroke. This desirable alignment of the group fastener elements to be removed with respect to punch blades is brought about (a) by the tip of the locating pin 26 first entering the space between said two fastener blades lla, llb disposed generally beneath said pin, such entry being at some random position as respects the adjacent side edges of said two fastener elements, as is indicated in Fig. l; and (b) by the stretching pin 33 then lowering on to the chain, such first imparting to the chain any small movement thereof in feed direction required to bring the advanced side edge of the following elements 11a of said two elements into edge-abutting relation with the tip of the locating pin 20, and, secondly, pulling or stretching the chain against the point of chain anchorage as established by the aforesaid abutment of element lla with the locating pin. Thus, there results a positive stretching of the length of chain extending between locating and stretching pins which, by proper design and relationship of parts, is such as to properly align the groups of fastener elements to be removed with the punches acting to effect their removal, so that all elements of the groups, and in particular the endmost elements thereof, are completely rather than partially removed.

The above description of control means operation was given on the assumption that the tip of the locating pin 20 lowered directly or in the first instance into the space between said two fastener elements Ha, llb. Should such not be the case, and, instead, the locating pin lowers directly on the element llb, assumed to be positioned a slight distance to the left of its Fig. 1 position, the lost motion connection 25 between the pin actuating arm 23 and the locating pin becomes cifective and enables the tip of the pin to strike against and then ride harmlcssly on the upper surface of said element as it is moved rightwise by the first action of the stretching pin 33 'on the chain. As explained above, such first action is to move said element 11!) to the approximate position in which it is shown in Fig. l, and results in the tip of the pin 20 dropping into the space between the elements 11a, 11b under the action of the pin-biasing spring 21. When such occurs, the control means operates as under the first condition described above.

From the above, it will be seen that the invention provides simple yet effective means which functions invariably to insure that all elements of the group or groups of fastener elements of a continuous fastener which are intended to be removed by a punch mechanism of the specified character are in fact completely removed. While the control means has been illustrated and described as applied to a punch mechanism of the type adapted to remove two closely adjacent groups of ele ments from the chain, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to punch mechanism for removing but a single group and/or two widely spaced groups of such elements from the chain.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for removing groups of fastener elements from a continuous slide fastener chain at predetermined places along the length of the chain including recipnocating punch means and means for feeding the chain in a generally linear path and with a step-by-step motion to the action of the punch means, the combination therewith of control means for insuring accurate positioning of each group or groups of fastener elements to be removed in the path of the punch means whereby said means effects complete removal of all elements of said group 'or groups, said control means comprising chain locating and chain stretching pins mounted for reciprocatory movement into and out of engagement with the chain, said locating pin being positioned a predetermined distance rearwardly of said punch means whereby its tip may enter the space between two fastener elements disposed a predetermined distance upstream of the elements to be removed by the action of said punch means, and said stretching pin being positioned to the forward or downstream side of said punch means and being adapted upon engagement of its tip with the chain first to impart thereto any further movement of the chain in feed direction required to abut the following of said two fastener elements with the tip of said locating pin, and thereupon to stretch said chain in said feed direction against the anchorage point established by said abutment, and means for timing the actuation of said control means to occur between each two feed movements of the chain and prior to the punch means engaging said chain.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the distance of the locating pin from the punch means is at least as great as the distance between said pin and the adjacent endnrost element of the group or groups thereof to be removed.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the stretching pin is timed to engage the chain subsequent to the locating pin engaging said chain.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein the locating and stretching pins are reciprocated by means individual thereto, the means for reciprocating the locating pin including a lost motion connection enabling the locating pin to give when lowering directly on to a fastener element disposed in its path.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein the chain feeding means includes a lower roller and wherein said stretching pin is positioned intermediate said lower roller and a rearwardly disposed additional roller disposed at the level thereof, said rollers together serving as spaced points of support which support the chain against the action of the stretching pin in moving thereagainst.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 466,228 Ford Dec. 29, 1891 517,171 Saltzkorn et al Mar. 27, 1894 1,489,167 Spiess Apr. 1, 1924 2,364,574 Wales Dec. 5, 1944 

